This invention is directed to a modification of the tool disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,016, dated May 5, l981.
The invention relates to a hand tool for slitting the sheath of flat plastic clad cables wherein two or three similar or different conductors, each individually insulated, are assembled side by side within a single sheath. The tool is designed, like that of the above-identified patent, for easy manipulation to slit the sheath in planes which pass between the individual conductors without impairing the insulation thereof.
The background of the present invention is summarized in the cited prior patent, the text of which is here adopted by reference. The prior tool made provision for slitting cables having varying conductor arrangements by bringing variously disposed blades selectively into operative positions, whereas the present tool utilizes a single fixed blade in combination with micrometrically adjustable cutting chamber walls, to insure accurate positioning of a single knife cut on each pass of the cable end.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a tool which is readily adaptable to use with cables of varying dimensions.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tool wherein the spacing of the lateral support (i.e., the cutting chamber wall) from the cutting plane of the blade can be very precisely determined.
It is a further object of the invention to provide chamber guide walls which are so mounted that their spacing from each other and/or their positioning with respect to the blade can be adjusted in unison or independently, at the operator's option.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide certain improvements in the form, construction, and arrangement of the several parts whereby the above named and other objects may effectively be attained.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.